


You Got Me Tripping, Stumbling, Flipping, Fumbling

by Midotaka16



Category: VICTON (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26983006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midotaka16/pseuds/Midotaka16
Summary: Just like not knowing someone's name after working with them for months, Subin has missed the grace period to ask his neighbor why he trips on the stairs every morning.akaSubin falls in love with his hurricane of a neighbor.
Relationships: Im Sejun/Jung Subin
Comments: 14
Kudos: 61
Collections: VICFEST®—round two!





	You Got Me Tripping, Stumbling, Flipping, Fumbling

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt 487: Every morning, without fail, Subin's neighbor trips on the last stair down on his way to fetch his mail. Subin thinks its the cutest thing he's ever seen. He doesn't realize it's because of his staring that makes his neighbor so flustered.

Subin’s neighbor is the biggest trainwreck he had ever met in his life. Sejun was a huge clutz, and in the 6 months since Subin had moved into his new apartment he had already seen: 1. The older man open up a can of soda that had rolled down the hallway, and then get tragically sprayed in the face by the carbonated beverage. 2. Sejun tripping on a rolled newspaper outside of his door, and dropping his chocolate chip muffin. Subin had stared quietly while coming up the stairs when he found Sejun dropped to his knees, wailing over his precious muffin. And most recently, 3. A muffled shout of “No, the cactus!” coming from the wall he shared with Sejun as the boy presumably had knocked over the plant onto the ground.

Despite the clumsiness and noisiness that ensued from having Sejun as a neighbor, Subin was surprisingly okay with him. And to be honest, he was more than okay with Sejun, who had the cutest dimples and a warm personality. He remembered opening the door to see Sejun’s beaming face when he had first moved in, holding out a tray of more of those beloved muffins to welcome him into the apartment complex. It didn’t hurt that although Sejun was a chronic hurricane of limbs, he had a cheerful, bright personality and always laughed off his own mistakes. As someone who takes bad days really badly, Subin found Sejun’s “laugh it off” attitude super refreshing. The two of them had gotten along very quickly because of it, and they had frequent conversations in the hallway due to being young professionals living a little far from their closest friends.

With all of Sejun’s quirks, the funniest thing that Subin discovered was his inability to get down their stairs to leave the building without tripping. Sejun and Subin had similar morning schedules, and Sejun always left his room a few seconds before Subin did. So every morning, Subin would follow behind Sejun, and watch as Sejun tripped over the last step while going to get his mail. Subin observed this happening literally daily, except for the weekends when Subin never left his room until time to buy lunch. 

At this point, it has been more than 4 months of watching Sejun trip, and he didn’t know what to do about it. How do you breach the subject of worrying for your neighbor’s mental stability after watching him trip down the stairs every weekday? Subin considered himself at least semi-socially awkward, and it had gotten to the point where it would be too weird to breach a subject that hadn’t been brought up earlier, like asking for someone’s name after knowing them for a few months. He would just have to live awkwardly knowing that Sejun was a clutz who could never remember to be careful. To Sejun’s credit, it wasn’t completely his fault. The last step was wonky; the construction was done poorly so that the gap between every other step was even except for the last one which was extra long. Subin had quickly learned to anticipate the extra large gap to avoid sliding down like a fool. Unfortunately, Sejun didn’t seem to have ever learned this lesson.

Sejun always slid with a small shriek, only to land on the smooth pavement, arms flailing, and give an awkward laugh.The first few times, he had been carrying things in his hands, which ended up poorly. It seemed that Sejun had at least learned that lesson after the yogurt fiasco when his strawberry yogurt had flown through the air and landed with a sad splat on a passerby’s feet. 

Subin had asked if he was okay the first few times, but Sejun had always blushed red and nodded, before changing the subject. Out of fear of embarrassing him, he had simply decided to stop saying anything.  
——-  
This morning seemed to be going the same as usual. It was a Monday morning, and Subin was dressed and ready for his part-time work at the nearby cat cafe. He was actually a graduate student at the local university, but being a graduate student instructor at school definitely didn’t cover his bills. He headed out the door, and saw Sejun as usual, as he turned down the hall to the exit. Except Sejun didn’t look so great today. His face looked pale and tired, and he had dark eyebags. He was also carrying a blue thermos of what looked to be coffee, and his air pods were blasting what seemed to be the top 10 kpop charts, a peppy voice singing about spring sunshine. Subin was… having a bad feeling about all of this. Judging by his appearance, Sejun hadn’t slept very well, and that plus his propensity for incidents, **and** the open thermos just seemed to be a match made in hell.

Subin followed Sejun to the staircase, his brain buzzing at him to make a move, say something, ask his cute neighbor if he was okay! He finally reached the third to last step, when he mustered up the courage to reach out his hand to grab Sejun. However, Subin watched in horror as his hand grabbed air, and Sejun slipped down the step, thermos flying into the air, coffee spraying the floor. Subin didn’t know if it was sheer luck, or the universe taking pity on him, but Sejun was miraculously clear from the spray zone. 

Sejun had let out a squawk of alarm, and finally caught his balance. He just stood there, staring at the mess. Subin hovered behind him awkwardly after going down the last few steps carefully. “Sejun are you alright?”

Sejun turned to look at him, and to Subin’s horror, the normally cheerful man looked at him, teary eyed. “It’s fine…” He said in a subdued tone, scrubbing his hands across his handsome face. “It’s just a normal Monday, you know?”

On the contrary, Subin knew it was _not_ just a normal Monday. For god knows what reason, Sejun loved Mondays. He would always look extra peppy leaving to get mail in the morning, bobbing his head to music and even humming parts out loud. To see Sejun look so resigned and upset on what seemed to be his favorite day of the week made _Subin_ upset.

It was time for Subin to be bold, he had to salvage the situation. After all, if he had stopped Sejun earlier, none of this would have happened. “I have tissues in my bag,” He said, pulling the zipper. “I don’t think we can wipe off all of it, but placing a couple will notify people to be careful. I’ll text the cleaning people to get it cleared out.”

He walked past Sejun and placed a couple tissues from his bunny tissue pouch over the spill. Subin then picked up the thermos and wiped it gently, before turning to hold it out to Sejun. “If you aren’t in a hurry, you can come with me to the cafe I work at. I can give you some coffee for the day, I promise mine tastes really good.”

Sejun smiled tearfully while taking the thermos, seeming to have pulled himself together a bit. “Thank you. And yeah, I have an extra 30 minutes before work.”

Subin finished sending off the text, then pocketed his phone and grabbed onto Sejun’s hand to pull him gently towards the exit, not noticing Sejun’s flustered expression. “Okay great, come with me. And tell me what happened, you look exhausted.”

Along the way to the coffee shop Subin silently listened to Sejun rant, enjoying his animated expressions. Apparently, over the weekend Sejun’s boss had thrown some extra work at him, which resulted in him losing his free time. But not only that, on Sunday night his boss suddenly had a change of heart, and wanted everything changed, which resulted in a sleepless night of edits. 

“And worst of all, he blamed me for not knowing what he wanted before he wanted it!” Sejun exclaimed, his face in a pout. “How am I supposed to read his mind? I’m not exactly a 60 year old balding man, it doesn’t come naturally for me.”

Subin stifled a giggle at Sejun’s dramatics, and just squeezed his hand lightly. Although he had never held Sejun’s hand before, he had silently decided that this was going to be all that he thought about for the next few decades of his life

Finally, they arrived at Subin’s workplace. _Purrfect Catfee_ was the only cat cafe in the area, and Subin may or may not be biased in saying that it was the best cafe in the area, regardless of the terrible pun of a name. The place served delicious drinks, and Seungsik, the owner, was one of the kindest people Subin had ever met. Seungsik was behind the counter writing something when Subin and Sejun walked in, and the cats were laying around lazily beyond the animal-proof fence. 

“So this is the place that I work,” Subin announced. “You can take off your shoes here, and put your bag on the shelf before sanitizing your hands. Afterwards, you can pet any of the cats here.”

Sejun’s eyes sparkled as he looked around, his dimples making a blessed appearance. “You didn’t tell me that there are cats here! Wahh they’re so cute!”

“Ah yeah, I hope you aren’t allergic.” Subin said as he removed his shoes and placed it in a cubby. “I’m going to get set up for work, but just relax as I get you your coffee.”

Seungsik finally noticed that Subin had company as he looked up from where he was calculating bills. “Good morning Subin! Who do you have with you today?”

“Good morning Seungsik! He’s Sejun, my neighbor. I’m going to just be making him some coffee.” Subin replied, walking over and putting his stuff into the employee locker. He turned to Seungsik and discreetly whispered. “He’s having a rough day, and had a rougher weekend.”

Seungsik nodded, a sympathetic look in his eyes. “Let me go and introduce him to some of the cats. No one can be upset while petting a kitty!”

Subin put on an apron while watching as Seungsik went over to Sejun, pointing out some of the cats. Sejun was already gently patting Daisy, an old tabby cat who lounged lazily on the floor. Meanwhile Subin’s favorite, Mimi, was playing with another cat in some cardboard boxes. He turned to turn on the coffee machine and prepare a drink. Judging by the smell, Sejun’s coffee this morning was something strong, but with a hint of sweetness, so Subin started an iced “Ameowicano” with a few pumps of strawberry syrup. It seemed that Sejun liked strawberries, judging by his deceased strawberry yogurt, as well as the cute little strawberry keychain attached to his bag. He grabbed a chocolate croissant--his own favorite treat-- with a pair of tongs, and placed it into a small paper bag. Glancing up, Subin was comforted by the fact that Sejun had started a conversation with Seungsik, the two of them both pleasantly smiling while sitting on the floor. 

Subin prepared himself a “Meowcha” latte and placed everything onto a pink tray. He walked over to a nearby table carefully, carrying the tray of food and drinks. “Here, I wasn’t sure what to make for you, but I hope you like it.”

Sejun reluctantly left the floor, and both he and Seungsik went over to the table. Sejun looked at the food and giggled at the cute cat-themed packaging. Seungsik beamed proudly at Sejun’s obvious delight. “Isn’t it cute? I picked all of the designs.”

Sejun lifted the “Ameowicano” and admired the plastic cat ears on top of the normal lid, before taking a sip. “Really adorable and delicious! You really have an eye for design. And thank you Subin, it’s amazing!”

Subin nodded shyly. “Glad you liked it. And I got you a chocolate croissant as well.”

“Thank you!” Sejun opened the bag and grinned at the cute chocolate croissant. As always, Seungsik missed no details in his operations, and had drawn cat features on the top with chocolate. Sejun bit down into the flaky layers and perfectly oozy chocolate, and let out a deep sigh of happiness. “This is so delicious,” he mumbled, crumbs scattered on his lips. 

“Seungsik is a master baker,” Subin explained.

Seungsik smiled at the two of them, and stood up. “I’m glad you enjoy it! It’s almost time for me to start prepping the cakes and pies, so I'll get going on those. Subin, why don’t you keep Sejun company for a while. I can get started first; it’s not too busy anyways.”

Sejun and Subin thanked him, and Seungsik went back behind the counter. Sejun had finished his croissant in another two bites, his cheeks puffed up with his large chomps. Subin took a sip of his own drink and just laughed internally at how cute Sejun was while eating. The older man seemed to have forgotten his weekend troubles. 

“Ah!” Sejun exclaimed, wiping his fingers on the napkins in the tray when finished. He stood up to reach for his bag. “How much do I owe you for the food?”

“Oh, it’s no big deal! You don’t have to pay me back.” Subin protested, gesturing for him to sit back down. “We are friends right? Plus you looked like you needed a little pick-me-up.”

Sejun frowned but complied obediently. “I’ll pay for something next time! It’s really nice of you Subinnie!”

Subin smiled at the thought of having a next time. “You mean next time you trip down the stairs?” He teased lightly, “Then it’ll end up being tomorrow.”

Instantaneously, Sejun’s face started flushing, and the boy started choking on his coffee. 

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Subin worried, patting Sejun’s back. 

Sejun finished coughing out his lungs, and turned even redder if possible. “As if it wasn’t completely your fault.” He muttered.

Subin tilted his head in curiosity, removing his hand from Sejun’s back. “What do you mean, my fault? I literally don’t do anything to you?”

Sejun covered his face with his hands. “I can feel you stare at me when we leave every morning, and my brain turns to complete mush. How am I supposed to remember to step carefully when I can feel you looking?”

Subin was still mildly confused, his head not connecting the dots. “Why would that be a problem? Am I bothering you? I can take a different route or something?” The more he thought about it the more he spiraled. “Do you think I am a creeper? Oh my god, I swear it’s just a coincidence?!”

“No no no!” Sejun protested, poking his head out from behind his hands. “You aren’t doing anything wrong, I’m just… a trainwreck.”

At this point Subin’s brain had pretty much stopped, but he was still trying to connect the dots. “Wait…” he looked at Sejun’s cute nose, and his unfairly handsome face. “Do you like me?”

Sejun returned back to his hands and whined. “Why would you ask me that? What am I supposed to say? Yes, I think you are cute, and that’s why i’ve been tripping down the stairs and looking like a fool?”

Subin broke out into laughter at Sejun’s dramatics and pulled his hands down from his face. “Sejun… Sejun!” 

“What…” The other boy pouted, his eyes turned to the window.

“I like you too. “ He stated. “And I think you are the cutest disaster in the world.”

Sejun’s eyes turned back to Subin’s, and his dimples decided to remake an appearance. “Really? You like me?”

Subin nodded, and Sejun leaned forward with a giggle to give Subin a warm hug. “Next time let me take you out to a restaurant! And you can see the cool side of me.”

Subin smiled into the hug and pulled back with his own dimpled grin. “It’s a date!”

———

The following Monday, Subin left his apartment with a bigger smile on his face, a pep in his step, and a plan in mind. He saw Sejun locking his door, and turning towards the exit, and Subin quickly did the same, and rushed to catch up to his boyfriend. 

“Good morning,” Sejun said, pecking a quick kiss on Subin’s cheek. 

Subin beamed back at Sejun, the two of them walking toward the stairs. And before Sejun could react, Subin quickly slipped his fingers into Sejun’s hand, and squeezed it lightly. “I’ll hold your hand from now on, that way you won’t slip.”

Sejun’s face flushed, and he misstepped, dragging Subin with him. They stumbled to the bottom of the stairs, and Sejun groaned in embarrassment. “You know what you do to me Subin, give me a heads up!”

Subin beamed at his boyfriend. “I'll just have to get you used to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This was my absolute favorite prompt, so I was super excited to claim it!


End file.
